From the moment the Oklahoma City Thunder lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy, former star center Serge Ibaka was cheering from afar, thrilled to see what Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren finally accomplished—a championship that eluded the franchise for nearly two decades. What Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka could not achieve together, this new core delivered through sheer determination and dominance over the 2024‑25 season.
That team of Gilgeous‑Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren seems built to last. In a recent appearance with TMZ Sports, Ibaka shared his belief that this group could carry the franchise into a new era of sustained excellence. “They have a lot of potential. The game now is very different. The game has changed,” he said. “This generation, I think they have the chance to be one of the best. But it's always easy to say but hard to do it. On paper, they have a chance. They can do it.”
That optimism is backed up by reality. The Thunder locked in offseason extensions for their MVP Shai, plus Williams and Holmgren, signaling long‑term commitment and stability. Ibaka acknowledged that plans on paper are only the start. “As an athlete, something I’ve learned is you can't really say numbers like that. There can be many things happen on your way there. But on paper, they have a chance to win three,” he told TMZ. “They’re young. They’re going to keep getting better and better. Sam always do a great job at putting a team together. Right now, they’re confident. It’s their moment.”
Ibaka also reflected on his own era alongside Durant and Westbrook. He believes if that trio had held together—including keeping Harden—OKC might have won at least two championships. “Minimum two,” he said, referring to what could have been.
He put that in context, cautioning that even with elite talent, championships require more than star power. “Right now when you look back, it’s easy to say we could win at least two,” Ibaka explained. “It’s easy to say, but it’s not easy to do it. You know what I mean? Because there’s a lot of things (that) happen before you win a championship. On your way there, there is a lot of things (that) can happen… Sometimes it’s not always about talent. You can have all the talent like we had, but those things, they go with luck, too.”
He went on to remind followers just how brutal the path to a title can be, citing injuries to key players like himself, Westbrook, and Durant during the early 2010s charging. That version of the team fell short despite all the hype, reinforcing the fragility of championship bids.
The difference now is undeniable. The new Thunder core wrapped the 2025 Finals in efficiency on both ends of the floor. They embraced a defensive identity, guided by coach Mark Daigneault’s scheme and supported by Holmgren’s rim protection. Meanwhile, Gilgeous‑Alexander captured league MVP honors and Williams delivered clutch scoring, turning OKC into the youngest Finals team since their 2012 run.
Ibaka’s nearly prophetic praise now rings loudest when it comes to the franchise’s future. The combination of youth, chemistry, coaching, and front office consistency frames a team with title aspirations far beyond one season.
This is no longer a distant hope or a nostalgic what-if; this is a blueprint for a genuine Thunder dynasty. Ibaka may have missed his chance to win titles in OKC, but he leans into the inevitability that his former team can finish the job he left undone.
He put it simply: “On paper, they have a chance to win three… They’re young. They’re going to keep getting better and better.” It's a sentence dripping with promise—and as long as the Thunder core stays stitched together, it just might become prophecy.
